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On Tuesday, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the giant Chicago philanthropy, is to announce this year's batch of 'exceptionally creative' people who will receive $500,000 over five years. No strings attached, not even a thank-you note required.

The new class of 25 'geniuses,' as they will come to be known, will join a select society of MacArthur fellows, to which only 707 before them have been admitted since 1981."

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Stanford Social Innovation Review : Articles : A New Take on Tithing (August 29, 2006): "Too often, individuals make decisions about how much money to donate to charitable causes on an ad hoc basis. As a result, many people give less money than they can actually afford. If the affluent contributed as much to nonprofits as the authors believe they can, charitable giving in the United States would increase by $100 billion a year – enough to solve many of the world’s most pressing problems.

By Claude Rosenberg & Tim StoneFall 2006

Malnutrition, illiteracy, disease – the problems of the world often seem insurmountable. But we see grounds for hope. According to our calculations, individual charitable donations in the United States alone could increase more than $25 billion a year if affluent households donated as high a proportion of their assets to charity as do the middle class and those below. This 17 percent “generosity gap” is our low-end estimate of how much additional money could be donated. If affluent donors gave as much as we think they could afford, based on our conservative donation benchmarks, charitable giving in the U.S. would rise by about $100 billion per year."

If the screaming blue-and-gold thousands who pack into Notre Dame Stadium aren't enough to prove that loyalty to the University lasts far longer than four years, the latest alumni giving rate certainly is.

During the 2005-06 fiscal year, 53.2 percent of Notre Dame alumni gave some sort of monetary donation to the University - setting an all-time record for the school, said Lou Nanni, vice president of University Relations. "

While flipping through data about civic/service clubs in Arlington and their philanthropic and related fundraising activities recently, a fascinating nugget of information emerged: Every year, the little Pantego Lions Club, 34 members strong, typically makes about $60,000 worth of grants and scholarships spread across perhaps 20 recipients.

That's a powerful investment not only in building social capital, but also as proof that that some civic groups, of which the Pantego Lions Club is clearly an example, are considerably more efficient at raising money for charitable activities than others.

This ability prompts curiosity. What fundraisers are some of the more efficient clubs using?"

Editors’s Note: This is the story of a turnaround. And as with any turnaround situation, the organization was near death, with many in favor of a do-not-resuscitate order. What struck us as important in this story, among other things, was the primary strategy employed—to engage as many stakeholders as possible in the development of a cohesive plan for the future. This plan had to be produced quickly and had to pass muster with the court-appointed receiver, because the organization had already filed for bankruptcy protection.

The enormous energy and wisdom that this strategy drew to the situation should tell us something about the resources available to us that may not typically be used in our own organizations. The high-engagement strategy is transferable, but it requires a deep shared passion and a willingness to work together to co-create a solution for the thing that is to be saved and given new life."

The Columbus Dispatch - Local/State: "10 million donation is museum’s biggestWalters want to shine light on art institution with rare show of public philanthropyThursday, September 14, 2006Bill MayrTHE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

As a volunteer in the Columbus Museum of Art’s cafe during the 1990s, Peggy Walter served soups and salads.

Yesterday, she and her husband, Robert D., served up something a bit more substantial: a $10 million gift to the museum, the largest single financial donation in the institution’s 128-year history.

The Dublin couple’s contribution will substantially increase the museum’s endowment for operations."

Published: September 14, 2006SAN FRANCISCO The ambitious founders of Google, the popular search engine company, have set up a philanthropy, giving it seed money of about $1 billion and a mandate to tackle poverty, disease and global warming.

But unlike most charities, this one will be for-profit, allowing it to fund start-up companies, form partnerships with venture capitalists and even lobby Congress. It will also pay taxes.

One of its maiden projects reflects the philanthropy's nontraditional approach. According to people briefed on the program, the organization, called Google.org, plans to develop an ultra-fuel-efficient plug-in hybrid car engine that runs on ethanol, electricity and gasoline.

Directors and trustees of the nation’s top art museums are preparing a major lobbying effort to reverse a federal tax provision approved last month that they say will significantly harm their ability to acquire new artworks."

SHALLOTTE, N.C. - For many nonprofits in the coastal Carolinas, finding enough money to run their programs is becoming a bigger and bigger job.

A fast-growing population brings fast-growing needs, area nonprofit officials say, and things such as changes in funding rules and the economy can rock a nonprofit's budget like a series of hurricanes.

Most agencies already look to a variety of sources for money, but one - Brunswick County's Communities in Schools - has an idea it hopes can provide for its future needs and also help other area nonprofits make money."

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Gulf Coast, though, was desperate for able bodies after the hurricane. 'People from outside the state have come in droves, rolled up their sleeves, and helped us get our lives back together,' says Bill Stallworth, a Biloxi city council member who set up a command center to handle the influx of volunteers. According to recent research by Independent Sector, a nonprofit coalition of charities and foundations, each of those volunteers saved the region about $18 an hour. They also gave a direct boost to the local economy. Johnson's crew bought all of their supplies on-site, paying particular attention to independent stores and restaurants—places that would benefit from a spike in busines"

Forward-thinking business leaders understand that community involvement is an important part of any company's success.

Research shows that a company's involvement in the community has become a business imperative. The Cone Corporate Citizenship Study reveals that 86 percent of consumers surveyed said they are likely to switch from one brand to another that is about the same in price and quality, if the other brand is associated with a cause."

Five years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the billions of dollars donated to the families of those killed have largely been spent, but the charity work hasn't stopped.

Now the families themselves have taken the stage. They have started scholarship funds and international relief efforts, raised money for memorials to honor the dead and launched organizations that have coalesced into multifaceted crusades for a variety of issues, including skyscraper safety, airline security and national security."

They're finding ways to manage, but several program directors say a philosophical change is needed - either allowing more grant money to be spent directly on operating or administrative costs or a designated government funding source specifically for that."

'These kinds of donations are very much an important resource for the charitable sector that have been going on ever since there have been charities,' continues Sczudlo, who adds that the earliest and most typical non-cash donations to charity, especially during the Great Depression, centered around food and clothing."

TheStar.com - The A-list charity cases: "But the festival draws more than movies and their stars these days. And Clinton's presence is a case in point showing how TIFF and its wealth of celebrity benefits charities of all scopes. There is a confluence of forces that only an event the magnitude of TIFF, with its magnetic pull on Hollywood's A-list, could produce: A broad opportunity for charities of all scopes to capitalize on the international attention focused here — and, of course, to benefit from the vast wealth that a critical mass of celebrity elite can help make flow.

Clinton's ease amid that same community is as apparent as his sway within it. Last night, in a de facto 60th birthday party for the former president, 500 guests, drawn from the city's corporate and political elite, spent as much as $200,000 per 10-person table to mix with visiting Hollywood A-listers like Billy Crystal and Kevin Spacey, the evening's MC.

After it all, the William J. Clinton Foundation — the former president's charitable organization devoted to causes such as fighting AIDS and poverty in Africa — was $2.5 million richer."

The Dell family foundation: "The Dell family foundationSeven years after its creation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is making its mark around the world — and here in Central Texas

By Andrea BallAMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFFSunday, September 10, 2006

The most powerful giving machine in Central Texas is in a nondescript shopping center near Westlake Hills.

There is no sign. The front door is locked. Visitors must ring a bell to enter.

This is the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the charitable arm of the world's 12th-richest man and his fashion designer wife. For charities across the world, this seven-year-old foundation — funded by an endowment that has grown to $1.2 billion this year — is a powerful financial ally against such social ills as poverty and illness."

There were no pink ribbons at the first Susan G. Komen Foundation fundraiser. Called Toys for Boys, the 1982 event in Texas was a polo party/charity auction that gave out jumper cables as favors.

In 24 years, a mix of hard work, high-profile supporters and an effective nationwide structure has transformed Komen from a small charity founded by a Dallas socialite to one of the country's most notable disease-focused nonprofits. The group raised almost $200 million last year, about half through its signature Race for the Cure series, which should draw more than a million people nationwide this year."

Oh, he doesn't mean to. The founder and CEO of a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization called Room to Read, who's just published a book called 'Leaving Microsoft to Change the World,' doesn't blame us for not quitting our nice, secure jobs pushing paper or marketing digital widgets, as he did seven years ago at age 35, and throwing ourselves into planet-enhancing philanthropy."